


Radio Silence

by obscureenthusiast



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Basically, Fluff, M/M, Steve and Bucky are already a couple, Steve and Bucky get an apartment, Timeskip, and Steve Rogers will suffer because of it, but only tiny, fluff on fluff on fluff, is this a WWII butt-dial fic??, let Steve kiss Bucky in peace 2k16, or at least blush excessively, please just let him live an embarrassment free life, so sweet your teeth will rot, the Howling Commandos are a bunch of dorks, there are too many guys named James on the team, there's some anxiety over period-typical homophobia (not a main point of the fic tho), this is probably the happiest one-shot I have ever written??, tiny itty bitty angst, too damn many
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-08-13 09:30:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7971829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obscureenthusiast/pseuds/obscureenthusiast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a long, cold recon mission, Bucky tries his hardest to woo a certain Star-Spangled Man while they're out away from the rest of the Howling Commandos. A few things go wrong and a few things go right, but mostly Captain America gets embarrassed. There's also talk of a "James Orgy", so take that as you will.</p>
<p>And then, as it turns out, the future is just as difficult on our poor boys, and modern technology doesn't help. But, on the bright side, they can make sure Tony loses a bet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I realized a long while back that three of the Howling Commandos share the same first name (James) and thought to myself "Oh, I gotta use that sometime" and, welp, here is the sometime, I guess. :P Enjoy!
> 
> [Note: The Jameses use the WWII military phonetic alphabet, so instead of just saying James M or F or B, they’re using the words Mike, Fox, and Baker.]

Steve shifted very slightly, the frozen ground crackling under his weight as he did. He heard Bucky yawn behind him and he glanced back at the sniper with a smirk, though he said nothing before switching his attention back to his binoculars. 

Bucky noticed the smirk, though, and said, with mock indignation, “I’m sorry, Mr. America, am I not allowed to yawn, now?” 

Steve chuckled, still focused on watching their target ( _someone_ had to keep an eye on the mission), and said, “What’s the matter, couldn’t sleep?”

“Pfft,” Bucky scoffed, and Steve could hear him shift over, sniper rifle and all, so he was closer to where Steve was, “apparently that serum made you impervious to cold. And rocks. You know, those things? The ones all over the place that you can’t avoid sleeping on?”

Steve smiled, “Maybe I just got a better spot than you did.”

“Bullshit,” Bucky muttered, “this whole damn country is one big, cold rock.”

“Well,” Steve said, shifting the binoculars to look down the road, “another week and we’ll be back with civilization. At least for a few days.”

“Thank god for that,” Bucky said under his breath. There was a moment of pause before he added, in a quieter tone, “You and me, first thing when we get back, we’re getting a jeep and heading into town.”

Steve smirked, taking his eyes away from the binoculars for a half second to look at Bucky as he asked, “Who says we can even _get_ a jeep?”

Bucky rolled his eyes, “ _Steve_ ,” he said, as Steve turned his attention back to the binoculars, “you’re _Captain America_. If you ask for a jeep, I’m pretty damn sure you’re gonna get a jeep. They hand those things out like candy, anyway.”

“Ok, so what’re we gonna do in town?” Steve asked, half-mindedly.

“First of all, we’re hitting the nearest bar. Do a little drinking, a little dancing…”

“I don’t know how to dance, Buck,” Steve pointed out calmly. He could practically _hear_ Bucky roll his eyes at this.

“Only cause you never let me teach you,” he countered. 

Steve smiled, a brief memory of a failed dancing lesson in a cramped Brooklyn apartment flickering through his mind like film. “You’re a terrible teacher.”

Bucky scoffed, “I am not. But that’s beside the point.”

“And what’s the point?” Steve asked.

Bucky’s shoulder brushed against Steve’s as he leaned closer, saying, “That after the drinking and the dancing, you and I are gonna get a hotel room with a proper bed in it.”

Steve could feel his face flush lightly at the thought. He tried his best to keep his tone serious, “Buck, that could be risky.”

“I miss you, Steve,” Bucky said quietly.

“You see me every day,” Steve said, chuckling.

Bucky bumped his shoulder again, this time more roughly, “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I know,” Steve said, “and what about the risks?”

“What? Two soldiers getting a hotel together, nobody bats an eye at it, not right now,” Bucky said, and Steve felt him shrug, “Guys are bunking up four, five to a room sometimes. Heck, they’d probably thank us for saving them a room.”

Steve looked away from the road, finally, to meet Bucky’s eyes. He sighed, but smiled a little, teasing, “James Buchanan Barnes, are you trying to seduce me?”

Bucky pulled a face, “Are you _really_ using my full name to seduce _me_ , or am I in trouble?”

Steve laughed, turning his attention back to his binoculars, “You know, I happen to _like_ your full name, James.”

“Stop that,” Bucky said, letting out a disgusted sound.

Of course, that was the _last_ thing Steve was going to do, especially when Bucky was getting this worked up over it.

“Stop what, James?” 

“ _That_. You sound like my mom,” Bucky said, though a chuckle slipped out as he spoke.

“Oh, c’mon, Ja _aaames_ …”

Steve was halfway through the last “James” when suddenly Bucky was kissing the back of his neck (with no small amount of tongue), successfully turning the last part into a half-gasp, half-moan sort of sound. Steve pressed back into the contact, suddenly all-too-aware of how _starved_ he was for Bucky’s touch.

Ok. Bucky missed Steve. But it was now extremely apparent that the feeling was mutual. 

Bucky broke away first, his breath warm against Steve’s neck. “Eyes on the target, Rogers,” he said, quietly reminding Steve of the mission they were _supposed_ to be on as he shifted away from him just a little bit.

Steve blinked about five times before clearing his throat, nodding, and shifting the binoculars in his hands, “Right… yeah,” he said, returning to his surveillance of the road.

Suddenly, there was a crackling over the radio, a voice saying, “Red squad, come in.” Steve immediately recognized it as Gabe Jones.

Bucky grabbed the transmitter and said quickly, “Reading you loud and clear, Blue. Over.”

“Red, we need you to please clarify your last transmission please, over.”

“Sure thing, Blue,” Bucky said, and Steve could hear him grabbing a piece of paper out of his pocket (a few quick notes he had scribbled over the course of their time up on the ridge here, just a shorthand list of vehicles which had happened to pass), “We spotted King, Jig--”

“Negative, Red, negative,” Gabe interrupted, “we only need clarification for the _last_ transmission. Over.”

Steve frowned, glancing at the radio with confusion. He thought he detected a hint of something more to Jones’ tone, though it was always hard to tell over the comms. 

Bucky was frowning, too, but before he could say anything, Gabe spoke again.

“There is an inordinate number of Jameses on this team, we just need Red leader to please clarify which one he was talking to. Over.”

Steve’s stomach lurched, then dropped completely. His face heated to what he was sure was tomato red and he stared at Bucky.

“How…” he started.

Bucky’s jaw clenched and he winced his eyes closed, his hand still holding onto the transmitter. “I must have sat on it when I…”

Steve’s eyebrows shot upwards and he gestured lamely at the back of his neck in lieu of the words that had died in his throat. Bucky nodded again.

By this time a considerable amount of radio silence was growing. But then their side crackled to life again, this time with Jim Morita’s voice coming through.

“Yeah, Red squad, this is Blue squad’s James Mike,” he said, with a serious tone, though Steve could quite clearly hear laughter and chatter in the background, “I’m just wondering if I need to write to my wife about this revelation of feelings. Over.”

Up until this point in his life, Steve was unaware that his embarrassment could spread a blush so far. But he could swear that right now he felt heat from his ears all the way down half his chest.

“Red, Re-, Red squad!” Monty’s voice came over the radio, his words tripping on an apparent uncontrollable bout of giggles, “James Fox here, and I am frankly _appalled_ that Red leader thinks he can come onto me like this when he’s never even bought me dinner, I am not that kind of girl!!”

Bucky was sitting, staring at the radio transmitter, hand over his mouth in either abject horror or amusement, Steve couldn’t tell at this point. 

Finally, Dum Dum’s voice sounded, quietly calm and authoritative, though Steve could definitely detect an ill-disguised chuckle, “Listen, Red squad, as you can tell, we’re in a bit of a panic over here, we can’t seem to reach an agreement on whether you meant one or the other or both. If this is some kind of call for all the Jameses to converge on your position… we just don’t know. So if you could offer some clarification, that would really calm things down nicely. Over.”

Steve was staring at the radio, too. His mind running an endless loop of “ _holy shit, holy shit, they know, they know, they know, they… don’t care??_ ”

Bucky, though, raised the radio to his face with a newfound sly grin. Steve could see Bucky was trying not to laugh, too, and, frankly, he wasn’t sure how any of this was funny. He had just come out to his whole team via _radio transmission_ of a goddamned _kiss-moan_ of Bucky’s name. 

“Blue squad,” Bucky said, glancing at Steve with the sly grin still dangerously in place, “James Baker here, no need for Jameses Fox and Mike at this time, I have the situation under control,” he winked at Steve, which sent even more heat into Steve’s alreadyboiling cheeks. Bucky shifted the radio a little, chuckling slightly, “But if I need backup, I’ll be sure to call them. Over.”

Steve tried his best to glare at Bucky, but the sniper just grinned at him, setting the transmitter down.

“Eyes on the target, Rogers,” he reminded gently, biting his lower lip as he held back laughter.

Steve opened his mouth to protest, only to shake his head and return his gaze to the road below. His cheeks were still a burning red, but he _did_ manage to mutter an annoyed, “I hope you’re prepared for the endless shit we’re gonna get for this.”

“Oh, I’m prepared,” Bucky said, once more shifting over to sit next to him.

By the time they got back to their base camp, at the end of their long shift up on the ridge, the rest of the Commandos were prepared with a full arsenal of catcalls and snarky comments. Jim Morita even slapped Bucky’s ass and said, “Take it easy there, James, I can take the next shift with the captain.”

Bucky snorted, “In your dreams, Morita!”

Jim laughed, shrugging, and said, “It was worth a shot, right?” as he walked away, tossing a kiss and a wink toward Steve.

Dum Dum grabbed Steve’s shoulder and said, “ _Please_ tell me at least one of you had eyes on the target.”

Steve rolled his eyes, flushing red as he wiped a hand wearily over his eyes, “ _Yes_ , Dugan.”

“Good man,” Dum Dum said, adding, with a significant glance at Bucky (who was wrapped up in bantering back and forth with Gabe and Dernier, while the other two Jameses looked on), “You and him, you make a good team.”

Steve’s smile faded a little and he studied Dum Dum’s face carefully, “You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?”

Dum Dum blinked, looking surprised at the question, “Of course not,” he gave Steve a comforting smile, the hand that was still on Steve’s shoulder squeezed a little, “You saved my ass, hell, this whole team’s asses. I think I speak for everyone when I say there’s no way in hell we’re gonna throw you under the bus.”

“Dum Dum, I... ” Steve stammered, then took a breath and said simply, “Thank you.”

Dum Dum’s smile grew, “Don’t mention it, Cap. Besides,” he nodded toward the others, “you might not want to thank anyone yet, you’ve still got a week before we’re back among the civilized, and I believe the rest of the team fully intends to make you embarrassed every second of it.”

Steve frowned, turning around to find Bucky, Jim, and Monty standing in a close huddle, and Steve dreaded to think what they could be possibly scheming.

Of course, he figured it out pretty quickly… 

For an entire week, Steve had to put up with every member of the Howling Commandos referring to _any_ of the three Jameses by first name only. This was usually met by a chorus of “yes, dear”s and an annoyed (but partially amused) eyeroll from Steve. Also, every time Steve went anywhere alone with Bucky, Jim and Monty sat up from wherever they were to ask Bucky whether he needed “James backup” (while Dugan, Gabe, and Dernier just stuck to whistling and telling them “don’t have too much fun”). On top of that, the concept of a “James orgy” kept coming up over the radio, and it was _always_ met with Steve blushing enough to melt the snow around him. 

But… for all that, there were some perks.

Bucky moved his sleeping mat up right next to Steve’s (making a very loud “well, it’s pretty cold tonight, eh?”) before lying down and putting an arm around him, pulling him close enough that Steve could feel him breathing. 

And, surprisingly?

None of the Commandos had a single catcall to offer in response. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I had a such a great time writing this!! S/O to my beta, Ashe, who is just all around awesome and puts up with my endless Stucky headcanoning and crying.
> 
> You are always welcome to stalk my (probably unexciting) tumblr "obscureenthusiast". ^_^


	2. Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Bucky are just starting to settle into their Brooklyn apartment and they have the misfortune to repeat past mistakes (something which will leave Steve Rogers once again blushing into infinity, and their friends laughing their asses off). However, the mistakes do come with... silver linings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this totally wasn't something I planned when I wrote part one?? But I just finished NaNoWriMo this past November and wanted something to just kind of ease me back into fanfic (I spent the whole month writing 50k on an original story), before I tried to dive directly into my longfics... So... here we go! ^_^ Enjoy!

It was a long time before Steve managed to get Bucky back. A long, long time before Bucky trusted his mind enough to let himself out of the ice again. But after that?

Steve was back home, an overpriced Brooklyn apartment with Bucky at his side. They got a cramped two bedroom place to share, figuring it was safer for both of them. The government wanted to keep tabs on them, anyway, so why not make it easier?

And… Bucky had nightmares most nights. There were still some things he was coming to terms with, some things he was struggling to remember. Steve wanted to be there for him, just in case. 

Steve walked in the front door and tossed his keys into the bowl, “I’m back!” he called, taking off his jacket to hang it up.

“Did you find any?” Bucky asked, sticking his head out from around the corner, where the kitchen was.

Steve laughed as he walked to the kitchen, “They still make a few candies from when we were kids, I don’t think they’re the same,” he set the grocery bag down on the counter, “but I’ll let you decide.”

Bucky scoffed, rolling his eyes and already digging into the bag, “You’re too picky, Rogers.”

Steve smiled, watching Bucky dig through the bag. For once, his metal arm was fully exposed by the tank top Bucky wore. It was by no means warm weather, the last vestiges of summer were fading quickly, but Steve remembered always feeling too warm for a long time after he got out of the ice. 

“You remember that one year you dressed up like a monkey for Halloween and made a little kid cry?” Steve asked, blurting out the question with no context.

This had become a regular thing, this sort of game. Steve would say something like that, or Bucky would say “wasn’t there that time…” if he wasn’t sure. It helped both of them, Steve figured.

Bucky looked up sharply, saying quickly, “I didn’t mean to!”

Steve laughed, “You looked like King Kong, what did you expect!”

“Maybe,” Bucky said, gesturing at Steve with a tootsie roll, “I was expecting to get candy. Like most kids were.”

“Oh, come on, you knew that you’d get half of my stash anyway, I was allergic to so much of it,” Steve snorted.

Bucky shrugged, “I always traded you all the stuff you _could_ eat out of my bag. I think that’s fair.”

Steve nodded, reaching over to grab a tootsie roll himself, unwrapping it with a bitter mutter, “Never shared the Dots.”

“That’s because those were my favorite, Rogers,” Bucky said in a vehement tone. 

Steve laughed, reaching for the grocery bag slowly, but Bucky batted him away with one hand, sending the other diving into the bag to grab the box of Dots Steve had bought.

“ _Paws off_ , punk!” Bucky said, holding the box out of Steve’s reach. 

Steve tossed a sour look at Bucky, grabbing for the candy, “Ok, but I bought those ones, you’re literally required to share.”

“What?” Bucky asked, eyebrows going up, “I’m sorry, Steve, you said that I got to judge all the new candy for myself, that means I gotta eat this whole box, I’m sorry, that’s the rules.”

Steve lunged for the box, saying, “No, you won’t, gimme some of those!”

“Ha!” Bucky said, jumping away to run to the other side of the kitchen, “If you really wanted some, why didn’t you buy two?”

Steve rolled his eyes, walking closer, “Because I figured since you had _an entire bag_ ,” he gestured at the grocery bag, now left behind by Bucky, “you could spare some!”

Steve jumped forward but Bucky flipped the box behind his back, catching it with his opposite hand as he ducked away, back across to the other side of the kitchen.

“Nope, I’m gonna eat all of this candy alone,” Bucky said, grinning and looking Steve up and down as he added, “Though, I will admit, it’s more work to keep them away from you now. It was easier when I could just hold it above my head and watch you jump up and down.”

“Until I punched you in the gut,” Steve pointed out.

“Ooh, right,” Bucky nodded, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked at Steve with indignation, “You were kinda a dirty fighter when you were small.”

Steve’s eyebrows shot up, “I remember you being a pretty dirty fighter, too.”

Bucky stopped in his tracks, suddenly relaxing his stance, the box of Dots clearly forgotten. Steve recognized the look as the one Bucky got whenever he was remembering something good for the first time. He loved that look. Good memories were rare for Steve, and even rarer for Bucky.

“You told me that,” Bucky said, a tiny smile curving at the corners of his lips. He turned his eyes on Steve, suddenly focusing entirely on him, nodding once, “You said, ‘you fight dirty, Barnes’, right after…”

Steve was remembering now, too, and he could feel his face heating, his heart pounding a little.

“...After I kissed you for the first time,” Bucky finished, still staring at Steve with a sort of wonderment.

Steve wet his suddenly dry lips and exhaled a quick breath, “Yeah, well,” he swallowed, “only because you kissed me just to shut me up about…” he couldn’t remember what. He remembered it had been some petty argument they were having, and Steve had been in the middle of trying to convince Bucky he was right.

“About you picking a fight with that jerk, Bobbie Whats-His-Name from your art school,” Bucky said, laughing. 

Steve nodded, unable to summon words. He’d been avoiding bringing up his and Bucky’s relationship, because he didn’t want to be too pushy when he didn’t know how much Buck even remembered. And he didn’t want to make it seem like he expected anything from him, not after everything they had each been through.

Bucky finally looked away, half-smiling down at his hands, the fingertips of his metal arm fiddled gently with the corners of the box of candy and he said, “I’d been wanting to kiss you for… probably months, by then. Who knows, maybe years, if I’d gotten over myself sooner.”

Steve laughed a little, biting his lip and leaning back against the kitchen counter, saying, with a sort of breathless nervousness, “Look, Buck, I don’t expect you to… to do anything. We were both different people back then.”

Bucky looked up, his eyes meeting Steve’s, “Yeah,” he mumbled. He tilted his head to one side, looking thoughtfully at Steve, “But I’ve been wanting to kiss you for weeks, now.”

Steve’s eyes widened and he stared at Bucky, opening his mouth but finding no words to speak. 

Bucky smiled a little, shrugging his shoulders back and explaining, in a low voice, “I remembered a whole lot more once you and I started living together, I just felt like I couldn’t explain it to you. Felt like anything I felt towards you was just shadows of memories. And I figured that… whatever it was they did to me,” he made an aborted sort of gesture toward his head, changing last minute and brushing his hair back, “had ruined any chance that I’d feel,” he flushed a little, sighing and looking down, “ _love_.” 

Still in shocked silence, Steve fiddled with the edge of the countertop under his hands. He didn’t know what to say, and wasn’t sure what he _could_ say, so he was relieved when, after a moment of quiet, Bucky continued in the same soft tone.

“Except it didn’t go away,” he looked up and shrugged, “and I kinda started to think that… maybe it was real and now,” his smile grew the tiniest bit, but Steve could see how nervous he was, “I know.”

Steve swallowed, his mind whirling through thoughts so fast he was surprised he could even speak clearly enough to say, “So what do you want to do now?”

Bucky laughed as he shrugged again. His face sobered slightly and he said, “I’ll follow your lead, Captain Rogers.”

Steve smirked, saying teasingly, “I’m no captain anymore, James Barnes.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, flinching, “And just like that, you killed the mood.”

“Oh, c’mon, _James_ ,” Steve said, laughing, frowning in mock confusion, “What’re you talking about.”

“Get your skinny ass over here and I’ll show you what happens if you call me that,” Bucky said, sounding like he was _trying_ to be threatening but failing miserably.

While Bucky continued trying to look tough on the other side of the kitchen, Steve laughed, flooded suddenly with everything this moment was. The years, the trials, the things they had gone through had all led here and… 

When they were a couple raggedy kids running the streets of Brooklyn, they could never have guessed that they would be _here_ and _now_ someday. When Steve had woken up from the ice, he had thought he’d lost everything, everyone. And even when he’d found Bucky again, he wasn’t the same. 

But this? This was the culmination of everything. They weren’t the kids from 40’s Brooklyn, and they weren’t the soldiers they had been told to be for so long. They were just who they were. _Together_ , they were who they were.

Steve pushed himself away from the counter before he fully realized what he was doing, but it was three steps across to where he grabbed Bucky, backing him into the countertop behind him. He traced Bucky’s jawline with one hand and tilted his head up, searching for permission before he leaned any closer.

Bucky reached his right hand up to thread his fingers through Steve’s hair and pulled him in, closing the distance between them as naturally as he ever had over seventy years before. 

Their lips met and Steve thought he felt all the breath escape him. It was like home. _Bucky_ was home. 

The kiss was quick, both of them pulling away before it went much further, each of them checking to make sure that this was alright.

Steve felt better than alright. He was on top of the universe, he was over the moon, and, if the grin on Bucky’s face was anything to go by, he wasn’t alone in that feeling.

Of course, Steve couldn’t resist to add, with the tiniest smirk, “Maybe I should call you James more often.”

“Don’t you dare,” Bucky said, though this threat was even less convincing than the last, because he leaned mid-sentence to rest his head on Steve’s shoulder, both hands resting at Steve’s waist.

Steve raised his eyebrows and said, “Why not, Jaaa _aaamess_ ,” Steve gasped the word out, the last few letters turned at least an octave higher and, of all things, _breathy_ because Bucky was sucking a hickey into the skin where his neck and shoulder met. 

He made a foggy mental note not to wear v-necks for the next week, a sacrifice he was all-too-willing to make. 

Bucky chuckled as his lips left Steve’s skin and passed his tongue over the spot, “What was that, Rogers?” he asked casually, as if he hadn’t just been sucking on Steve’s neck hard enough to bruise.

Steve caught his breath, knowing his face must be bright red right now. He was still smiling, though.

“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” Bucky said, looking at him with that stupid crooked grin.

“Hoo, boy, this is getting hot!” an all-too familiar voice said… from Bucky’s back pocket.

Steve’s eyes met Bucky’s and both of their smiles fell into confused frowns.

Why the hell was Tony Stark’s voice talking from Bucky’s phone?

Bucky closed his eyes, sighing as he removed his hands from Steve’s waist and reached back to grab his phone out. Steve saw him wince as he held the phone up. Tony Stark was looking back.

The video chat read that the call had been going for the past thirty seconds and Steve tried to calculate how much Tony had heard of their… 

“Hi, Tony, what’s wrong?” Bucky said, clearing his throat and focusing the camera on himself only.

“Yeah, first of all, it’s real sweet that you think I only call you if there’s something wrong,” Tony said, “but, second of all, you called me.”

Steve turned to look at Buck at the same time that Bucky looked at him. They met eyes and Steve wanted to scream at the sky.

A goddamn _butt-dial_? _Really_? 

Tony raised his eyebrows, looking positively _thrilled_ , “This is perfect, though, because I do have a pretty important question for Cap. Would he,” Tony paused, clearly trying to control himself. Steve heard giggling in the background and his stomach sank. _How many people were with Tony right now_? 

“Would he happen to be around?” Tony finished, and Steve thought he recognized one particularly loud “guffaw” as Clint Barton, but he couldn’t be sure.

Steve leaned into the picture, seeing himself on the camera with a _still_ bright red blush on his face. He was just glad that the hickey wasn’t showing yet.

“Hey, Tony,” he said, nodding curtly.

Tony had a hyena’s grin and he said, “Ah, great, Cap, you see it’s, um,” he was chuckling a little and Steve saw him glance to one side of himself, at someone off-screen, “It’s actually for Rhodey, he’s wondering what you needed?”

Steve frowned, trying desperately to squash the blush on his cheeks, “What do you mean?”

With that, Rhodey half-dove into the camera’s view, leaning on Tony as he said, “I mean, you were talking to me, right?” he raised his eyebrows, pointing at himself, “James. James Rhodes, here, what do ya need? Maybe you wanted to talk about why you’re moaning my name?” 

The other side of the call erupted in giggles, even Tony was red in the face, a hand covering his mouth as he tried not to laugh too loudly.

God was playing a trick on him, or else Steve Rogers was just a very, _very_ unlucky man, and he really wanted to melt down the kitchen sink right about now.

Steve felt the heat in his cheeks double and he said, “No, Rhodey, I wasn’t…” he waved an annoyed hand at both him and Tony, “Get outta here, both of you.”

Rhodey pulled a face, looking hurt, “Wow, Steve. I understand it’s hard to come to terms with your feelings for me,” he pressed a hand to his chest, bowing his head respectfully while unseen others laughed in the background, “Believe me. I know, I know, who wouldn’t have feelings for me, I’m awesome, but, Steve,” he shook his head, “the fact is you’re just too old for me.” 

While the audience on the other side of the call burst into laughter, Bucky snorted, turning to look at Steve with a grin.

Steve couldn’t believe this was happening again.

“Oh, c’mon now, boys!” a new voice said, and Steve blushed even deeper when he recognized it as Nat’s, “I think it’s sweet! Like those elderly couples you see feeding ducks in the park, y’know? Still in love even though they’re old and crusty, it’s so nice!”

Tony’s eyebrows darted upwards and he said, with a pointed look at Bucky, “I don’t know. How many old people do you see grabbing each other’s as-”

Steve jumped in before Tony could finish, saying, “There was no _ass-grabbing_ , Tony!”

“That may be so,” Tony raised his eyebrows further, “but I think we finally have evidence that Captain America isn’t a virgin. That noise was _not_ a virgin noise, I’m just saying.”

“ _Tony_!” Steve said, a laugh bursting out of him as he turned away from the camera, reaching up to cover his face with one hand. He was _blazing_ embarrassment and he turned to look at Bucky, whispering, “Why does this always happen to us?”

Bucky grinned wolfishly, “You know, it’s karma. Don’t call me James.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Tony said, leaning closer and pulling his yellow-tinted sunglasses down his nose to look at Steve carefully, “What do you mean, ‘always happens’?”

Bucky bumped Steve’s shoulder with his own and saying, in a loud stage-whisper, “You know I can hang up whenever, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” Steve murmured, wiping his face and laughing, chancing a look at the phone.

“Hey!” Tony said, “Don’t hang up on us, we have so many questions!”

“Steve, don’t listen to Tony!” Clint appeared suddenly, a huge grin on his face as he pushed his way into the frame on Tony’s other side, “I’m happy for you crazy kids.”

Nat, who could be seen just over Clint’s shoulder, raised her glass in toast and said something in Russian, which Bucky laughed at and dipped his head to.

“Listen,” Tony said, refocusing the camera on himself, and looking serious for the first time, “for real, I’m so glad that you two got together. This is all just so unexpected,” he paused a moment, then continued, in the same serious tone, “I mean, it’s not like we had bets going or anything. But, on a separate note, if you could, like, not make it Facebook official for another…” he paused, looking at Rhodey.

“What day is it?” Tony asked.

“September 14th,” Nat answered from off-screen.

“Thank you, yes,” Tony turned his attention back to Steve and Bucky, saying, “If you could just not make it official for another, oh, week or so, I would thank you and Maria Hill will be mysteriously out three hundred bucks,” he pointed at them, his face still serious, “Just think about it.”

Steve laughed, nodding, “Gotcha, Tony.”

Rhodey leaned into the frame and said quickly, “Steve, if you ever get tired of the, let’s be honest, pretty clearly ‘lesser’ James,” he laughed a little mid-sentence, finishing amidst chuckles, “just give me a call, ok?”

Bucky narrowed his eyes at Rhodey, “In your dreams, Rhodes.”

Rhodey laughed, “Yeah, ok, I redact the last statement, you make a compelling argument.”

Tony turned the camera back so it was on him, saying a parting, “Remember, guys, one week! See you around, don’t have too much fun, don’t do anything I would do, and,” he gave them a grave look, “for gosh sakes, use protection!”

Steve snorted, waving as the call ended. Bucky set the phone down on the counter behind him and turned to look at Steve with a grimace.

“Well,” Bucky sighed, though his smile returned a little after a pause, “that could have come out a little bit… differently.”

Steve laughed and reached up to brush some of Bucky’s flyaway hairs out of his face, “It’s fine, I think we just have problems with timing. And telling our friends important things over butt-dials.”

Bucky shook his head, laughing, “No phones in the bedroom. Ever.”

“Agreed,” Steve said firmly, sighing and pulling Bucky closer once more and placing his hands on Bucky’s hips. 

“You know, Tony brought up a good point,” Bucky said thoughtfully, brushing his thumb along Steve’s jaw.

“Did he?” Steve asked with a small, doubtful chuckle.

Bucky smiled, “We can be…” he shrugged, saying in an almost off-hand way, “ _official_ ,” he met Steve’s eyes with unspoken hope. 

Steve blinked, realizing the full gravity of Tony’s casual assumption that they would be announcing their relationship to the world. 

You know, there was a lot he had grown to love about the 21st century. And that? That was pretty close to topping the list.

He grinned, asking, “So… are we gonna let Tony win the bet?”

Bucky snorted, “He’s rich enough already, he’ll get over it. Hill probably needs some cash. She can buy herself something nice.”

Steve laughed leaned in to kiss Bucky again, longer this time. Taking all the time he wanted. 

The world had changed, and so had they…

Just not too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!! :D


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